The Craft of Crisis Communication

We have created this programme to provide Crisis Communication Training for the management of a company.

This is an intensive one day programme in which the whole team who would be involved in any major incident are placed in a crisis situation. Their purpose would be to protect the reputation of the company by managing communications with all audiences – employees, shareholders, customers, media, government, unions etc.

Crisis? What Crisis?

There are two common assumptions about a Crisis.

The first is ‘It won’t happen to us.’ This is dangerous. The FSA is on record as saying
“The biggest threat to business is complacency” FSA.

The second common assumption is that a crisis is something that happens TO a business; for example, a fire, or a terrorist incident. This is statistically wrong. Businesses are most likely to experience a crisis created BY the business: for example an IT system going down, or illness of key staff.

Our Crisis Communication Training Course can help a company deal with every kind of crisis it is likely to experience.

The Planning Process

The situation would be developed in consultation with the company to provide a realistic scenario as possible. It would only be revealed on the day and through controlled output of information, which would be drip-fed throughout each session.

Together, we would create as life-like a crisis as possible so that elements of the story will be surprising, chaotic and at times incorrect. The team will be required to work out various aspects of handling such a story with all its implications for the organisation of the team while presenting that story to minimise damage to the reputation of the company.

The Workshop Process

We would make full use of Craft of Communication’s theatre background. Firstly, we can provide actors who are skilled at role play. They have:

The intellectual discipline to absorb information about the company, the specific crisis and the issues.

The imagination to transform that information in a broad range of totally realistic characters.

Use their Voice appropriately. The way you speak to others will determine how they reach to a crisis. Our Voice

Coaches can help managers to calm others by the voice alone.

Influence audiences at an emotional and subliminal level.

What the company gains

The exercise can:

Test the robustness of any existing crisis plans.

Test the unrehearsed responses and reaction in a pressurised situation.

Develop a plan that will help in any future crisis situations.

Give feedback on individual performances.

What the Crisis Team gains

The critique of the session will include tips and techniques on how to handle the media in such a situation, and development of the company’s own crisis plan. Advice will also be given on their own personal style and performances.

At the end of the session, the senior team should be equipped with:

An understanding of the importance of protecting the company’s reputation in a crisis.

A much clearer sense of how the media works in a crisis situation

The techniques of handling an interview with a journalist in a crisis situation in order to limit damage to the company’s reputation.

An understanding of their own style and an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses.

An understanding of the strengths and any weaknesses in the company’s existing crisis plan.

A new set of practical Communication Skills that are essential in a crisis and of proven value in a wide variety of work situations.